The APRA Music Awards is an annual music awards event which recognises Australian songwriters. Each year, Australasian Performing Right Association Limited (APRA) gives an honour for the Licensee of the Year. This year that award went to the Australian Calisthenic Federation for being good musical citizens.
How is the APRA Award decided?
The Licensee of the Year Award, as assessed by APRA’s Board of Writer and Publisher Directors, is designed to reward licensee groups for good music citizenship. The recommended recipient has been selected against the criteria of consistent compliance and demonstrated support of music such as the presentation of local content or innovative use of music. Management recommended the Australian Calisthenic Federation Inc for the 2024 Licensee of the Year Award.
The Federation holds umbrella licences for the use of music in dance classes and associated eisteddfods. This umbrella arrangement creates administrative ease for the OneMusic team. The team enjoys a great working relationship, particularly with Board Director, Michelle Dowling. Under her remit, the licensing coverage has increased substantially.
Not only has this increased revenue, but Michelle actively promotes OneMusic to her members including the importance of ensuring that composers are paid when their music is used.
“As the National Peak Body for Calisthenics, we have worked with OneMusic to simplify the licensing process for our members. We collate the required information from our State Members regarding the number of students, studios, classes, concerts and competitions held in both regional and city locations in our member states, and we provide that information to OneMusic, who ensure we receive the required licenses. For our National Competitions, we work with both OneMusic and APRA AMCOS to ensure the event is appropriately licensed, including the music used at the venue and in the live stream”, said Michelle.
The importance of understanding music licensing
We asked ACF about the importance they placed on making sure that composers and music artists get paid properly for their work;
Calisthenics is a performance dance-sport that places a high value on the intellectual property of our choreographers and performers. Music is an integral part of our sport’s creative process, therefore it is extremely important that other creatives, such as composers, receive fair compensation for the use of their intellectual property. Crafting a single piece of music entails considerable work, involving composers, writers, producers, and others who contribute to its creation. It's essential that they are duly compensated for their music.
In our role as a National Sporting Organisation overseeing various music licensing aspects and advising our Member States on their events requiring licensed music, we've encountered challenges. The primary issue has revolved around ensuring that music is licensed appropriately for the specific type of event, whether it's an in-person competition in a theater, a promotional performance at a larger-scale event, or a live-streamed competition accessible globally. We have been able to navigate this by working closely with OneMusic to ensure correct licensing has been obtained, and we thank them for their efforts in assisting us. It is crucial to ensure licensees fully grasp the scope of their license to avoid any missteps.
As we embrace new technologies and easier access to a global music database, we must remain mindful of the origins of the music we use and ensure composers receive fair compensation. Music is intertwined with the core of calisthenics, and it is important to be conscientious about when and how we utilise others' work, ensuring proper licensing to support their livelihoods.
Music licensing in the fitness industry
It’s great to see sporting bodies such as ACF taking music licensing seriously and also being recognised for their efforts. If you use licensed music in your business and have questions around licensing, there is a wealth of information available at OneMusic’s website.
Some more articles you might enjoy:
Could Your Facility Become an Official RUN X™ Centre? Inside the World’s First Treadmill World Championship
A landmark partnership between Technogym and World Athletics is turning connected treadmills into a global competitive stage, and Australian fitness centres have a front-row seat. Running is already Australia’s most accessible sport. Parkrun draws tens of thousands of participants every Saturday morning. City2Surf sells out in minutes. Fun runs fill up months in advance. Australians
8 Fitness Franchises That Could Come To Australia
Franchising continues to drive the growth of the health and wellness industry, and the concepts chasing Asia-Pacific expansion in 2026 look nothing like the boutique studios of a decade ago. With more than 30 established fitness franchises already competing for space in Australia, we went looking for something different: brands that are either talking openly
Follow the Money: Where Suppliers Are Betting in Australian Fitness
Interview conducted July 2026. Everyone in the fitness industry has an opinion on what’s trending. Fewer people are in a position to say where the money is going. Shaun Krenz is one of them. As co-founder of AusFitness Expo and AusFitness Industry, he spends most of the year building relationships with the suppliers, brands and
Inside Australia’s First National Sauna Festival
Sauna has quietly become one of the most talked-about additions to the Australian wellness landscape, and this August, it’s getting its first true moment in the spotlight. The Big Sweat, a two-day national sauna festival hosted by Blue Mountains Sauna in Leura, NSW, will bring together sauna operators, practitioners and enthusiasts from across the country
BFT PODIUM Series: The Event Model Driving Franchisee Revenue and Member Retention
Body Fit Training (BFT) held the global launch of its PODIUM Series last weekend, on Sunday 2 August 2026, across 300+ studios in 10+ countries. The in-studio event series is designed to open up new revenue and improve member retention for franchise owners, with more than half of that global footprint based in Australia. To
Fitness Cartel Maroochydore Reopens After $3.6 Million Rebuild
Fitness Cartel officially reopened its Maroochydore club on Saturday 25 July, capping off a $3.6 million refurbishment. Founder and CEO Nathan James spoke to What’s New in Fitness about the reinvestment, the new demographic it’s already drawing in, and what smaller gym operators can take from it. “Phenomenal,” is how James described reopening weekend. “We